


Left Way, Right Way

by rainagray



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: AU Credit to Toxikku on tumblr, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Assistant Tails AU, Moral Dilemmas, Sonic Forces
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:15:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26725000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainagray/pseuds/rainagray
Summary: "How can you save others, when you can't even save yourself?"Raised under the ever present Dr. Eggman's wing, a certain Miles "Tails" Prower never met the blue blur - until the doctor's assistant spots the hedgehog through a lab window, and his world has never been the same since.
Relationships: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik & Miles "Tails" Prower, Miles "Tails" Prower & Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 21
Kudos: 49





	1. What If

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Toxikku](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toxikku/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Assistant Tails AU](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/746841) by Toxikku. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Tails' is raised by a certain genius doctor.
> 
> Mainly set in the day before the first attack in Sonic Forces, and Tails must choose where his alliance lies. 
> 
> Set in the Assistant Tails AU, created by Toxikku through a series of comics on their tumblr!

The air was cold, and he was alright with that. 

Goosebumps rose along the kit’s fur as he basked in the chill breeze and gazed at the twinkling lights above, humbly looking across the darkness. His legs crossed, lightly settled on the swaying grass, his hands twitted amongst themselves; intertwining and picking at the collars of the gloves stained green around the edges. 

The child closed his eyes, allowing himself to soak in the tranquility of the clear atmosphere, the song of bugs and howling of the trees in the distance rocking him in a soothing hum. 

“Miles.” 

He whipped around, spotting the light blue neon haze of eyes watching him. Shedding the tension from his shoulders, he returned his eyes to the skyline - hiding his chin in his crossed arms. 

“What do you want, Orbot?” Tapping his arm with his absent fingers, the fox already knew the answer. Meticulous planning across several months all lead up to tomorrow, but he could not share the same enthusiasm that his mentor had expressed as the time ticked closer. 

“Your father wishes you inside,” The bot glided forward, hesitantly reaching to the kit's arm. “You both have plans to make.” 

Tails flinched from his touch, mumbling an apology as he rose from his spot, and walked past his proclaimed watcher, absentmindedly grasping the bot’s arm to drag him softly along. The duo walked back towards the imposing building of the Robotnik Empire. The flickering lights of the white walls swirled in the air, the red and black symbol of his mentor's silhouette printed on the metal walls. Looking back to the red robot, he sighed and waved for him to come inside. Taking a last look at the sky, he entered the pin to open the doors and they both walked inside. 

* * *

* * *

The lab-coat adorned fox hesitantly opened the door ajar, peering into the laboratory. Tails could only see the Doctor’s back, a haze of the computer screens creating a halo of light around his body. 

“Sir?” 

The man turned his head, laughing as he saw his apprentice’s face in the doorway. Opening his arms, he took large strides towards the boy. 

“Miles! I see Orbot fetched you like I asked,” the man beamed, his eyes crinkling around the edges. Wrapping an arm around the boy, he guided him towards the various monitors and papers strewn across the room. “Tomorrow is a big day for us.” 

The boy chuckled, and the Doctor lowered his guiding hand to turn back to various screens. Tails placed his hands into the large pockets sewed onto the lower half of his coat, when he spotted an upside clipboard resting on a table in front of them. He furrowed his eyebrows, grasped the wood, and turned the board to see the papers: a body chart, vital signs and various boxes left checked or unmarked. He blinks at the information, confused at where the Doctor had gotten this. Suddenly making a sound of protest, Dr. Ivo snatches the papers from his protégé. 

“Sorry,” the child mumbles, looking away from the man’s taller, intimidating stature. The light hearted greeting had all but shattered, and a thick sense of dread filled the space as Miles’ face heated up with worry. Ivo stomped to the desk drawers, opening a compartment and spilling out their contents as he placed the papers into the drawer, slamming the desk shut. Watching his mentor's heaving shoulders, the doctor placed his hands onto the table and steadied his position.

The child watched gingerly, a yearning in his face to help yet not knowing what would not prompt another outburst. He turned his head to look about the room, before returning his gaze to his mentor, crossing his arms, and slowly walking to his side.

“Speaking of tomorrow,” Tails blurts out, mustering the courage to speak. “You...haven’t truly told me what it is we are doing.” 

Eggman simply said nothing, looking to the side away from the boy and clenching his fists on the table. Breathing in deeply, he turned to smile at the boy. Albeit his smile was gentle and melancholic - a whisper of anxiety weaving into his brows, the man's legs wavering as he came to a kneel in front of his apprentice. Gently placing a gloved hand on Tails' shoulder, his jaw clenched. 

“Yes, about that,” Tails wrung his hands at his surrogate father’s hesitance – the Doctor's plan had been his pride and joy for the past few months. Late evenings spent isolated in his lab, slamming metal contraptions in frustration, all while Tails was forbidden from coming in without notice. But when the assistant asked about his plans? Oh, how his face would light up; he would beam, a sun lit behind his eyes, and those were the moments when the assistant could almost forget what he was so desperately working for.

“I," the Doctor breathed in, placing his remaining hand on his assistant’s shoulders and squeezing ever so slightly. “I believe it may be time for _you_ to lead a charge" 

* * *

* * *

He slammed the door and slid his back down the wood, feeling the bumps against his skin as the weight descended him down. Covering his head in his hands, he bounced his leg against the floor. The light switch kept off, only the small beams of the stars and moon lit the covers over the fox's bed, continuing to light the space next to the boy. While he attempted to, he could not ignore the shadow of the approaching Orbot flowing through the space between the door and the floor at which he sat. Accepting the upcoming half-hearted inspiration, he took out his frustration in glaring at the opposing wall. 

“Tails, I do not believe that this is the healthiest way to deal with this." 

“Go away." 

A metallic sigh came from behind the door, as the red bot reached for the handle and pushed the door open- and into the kitsune's head.

“Ow! Orbot, what are you doing?!" The child swiveled his body to his door, squinting at the crack of light the robot had allowed into the room. Leaning into a squat on wavering legs, he rubbed the sore spot that was assaulted by the wood. 

“I understand that this is a big responsibility, Tails," the robot reassured, attempting to put his arm through the creaked open entrance. “But the Doctor would not offer you this position if he did not know you could handle it!" 

The door swiftly opened as the hallway vacated, the red machine forced inside. The fox's short stature did nothing as he glared at the red face of his watcher, biting back the hurt and trying to bring out the anger in his face. Heaving labored breaths, water began to collect in the corners of his eyes; shaking his head, he turned away from his helper. Photographs laid out on his bedside table stuck out from underneath his various books – some photos of surprise shots he took of the Doctor as he worked, others of his whole “family”; Cubot and Orbot waving at the camera as Tails stood on a chair to be seen from the back row. The Doctor standing at his side, somehow still towering above the fox, and his arm behind the boy to ensure he would not fall. He reached out to graze his fingers across the thin film, wearily smiling at the memories of convincing the Doctor to include their robot friends in their family portrait.   
  
A sullen droop of his face and the lowering of the film was all the child did before whispering:

“What if I don’t want this?” 


	2. Forest Vow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tails ventures to the area within the forest where Sonic and he meet, in order to be around each other without suspicion of the doctor.
> 
> Yet, something seems...off about his friend.

Sprinting ahead, he didn’t even think to look back. Memories swirling in his head of the familiar spot, where he would run when the nights suffocated him and all thoughts distorted and spun until they were unrecognizable. Where outstretched arms greeted him, and a smile was soon to be placed on the kit’s face. The unspoken agreement to meet, once the sun laid past the horizon, an hour after a light blanket of darkness encompasses their valley. 

He did not know if it was right, but the forbidden nature of his visits made it ever the more enticing. How his heart pumped the first time he made a daring escape, with guilt and excitement anew. The path he takes as he scales down from his window and onto the graveled paths is now automatic. If he looked close enough, he could spot grooves in the grass which his route stepped on. 

The fox stepped forward and sighed at the clearing of trees he knew would lead to comfort; his face crumpling, beaming at the swaying branches, he set his gaze and determination forward – onto the circling within the forest where his hero often accompanied. His assignment jacket worn on his shoulders, the kit held his jacket snug to his skin as the chill evening air bit at his fingers. 

“Sonic?” He walked into the clearing, peering behind the trees and plants adding to the darkness; swallowing the knot in his throat. “Sonic, are you here?"   
  
“Hello, little buddy."   
  
The fox’s ears swirled as he pivoted, the hedgehog balancing his back onto the bark of a tree – crossed arms folded firmly against his chest, as he looked up at the stars, a faint smile on his face. If there was any malice burning into the edges of his entrance, the boy didn’t notice. Beaming, he quickly skipped forward. “Sonic!"   
  
He was only met with a cold gaze, the smile wiped from his hero’s face, and Sonic’s expression vacant. His ears dropped, stopping quickly in his path, as he tries to scan the older boy’s face for the reason of his cold welcoming. Chuckling as he always does when his logic splinters and crackles from beneath him, he lightly held the gaze of his hero, pushing past the hollowing sensation building throughout his chest the longer he attempts to watch.   
  
“Are...you alright, Sonic?" His quiet inquest was shortly cut off by a laugh – snarling and foul – ringing through the forest, and after the shock he realized that it was _Sonic_ who’s laugh made him want to escape and never look back into the woods.   
  
As the laughter ends, Sonic’s shifts as he hears the shuffle of the kitsune’s feet, snapping a twig as the younger takes a step backwards from his partner. He tilts his head, a smile resembling more of a coyote ready to end its hunt than his running hero on Sonic’s face, before sauntering towards the child, looking down as he raised his posture.   
  
“You know," Sonic snickered, looking away with a snort before calmly meeting the fox’s blue eyes. “I was thinking about not coming here tonight. Leave you hanging. Seems _fitting._ " The last phrase delivered sharp, causing the fox’s countenance to drop even further down; his ears painfully pinned to the fold of his head.   
  
Talking through the clamp in his voice, whimpering out something sweet and shattered, he is found himself shoved onto the dirt and roots with a shout. He breathes through the water collecting in his vision, not wondering too intently on whether it was from the pain or confusion, and pushes himself up on the ground to look up to his surrogate brother. The blue figure kneels down to grab hold of the boy’s chin and meet their gaze, searching for anything within the boy’s eyes, while a huff of cool fog leaves his mouth and his shoulders sag.   
  
“But I thought I should make it pretty clear, just so I don’t see your face again." He hiked the child’s torso towards him again, grabbing the tuff of his jacket. The child in turn grabs ahold of the hedgehog’s arms, never taking his gaze away from his mentor’s eyes. “So here it is: stay away from me." Pushing the boy back down onto the dirt, he rises and walks away from his admirer, stretching his arms skywards. His back still faced towards the dejected figure on the ground, he laughs. “I don’t need a freak slowing me down.”   
  
“N-no! Wait!” The dirt up kicks from his boots, sliding into the mud as he outstretches him arm and scrambles to his feet. Clear water wavering over the corners of his eyes, he shuddered heavy breaths. “I... want to _be_ like you. I _want_ to be a hero- Like you, Sonic!” His pleas shattered through the air, scratched and pleading from within his throat; shaking and thin, yet conviction strong. His body shrinks, folding in on itself with shame and his core, somehow not broken completely, felt hazy and muffled. “But I don’t know how.” They released – cool emotion walking down his cheeks, slow as a poem with words chosen just perfectly. Smaller than he’d ever felt, his soul and hope compressed into his words, raw and open and bleeding: “Can you tell me how?”   
  
Oh, how when the world sits still it is never truly silent? Even when all seems slow and purposeful, the wind will sound in the distance; the seconds of the clock practically felt in the atmosphere, when still they are clouded with fear. Surely the way the elder’s brow furrowed, the shadow resting on the hedgehog’s face, should give way to some misguidance; but the next words spoken rang so violent, so true, that the fox had no choice but to listen.   
  
“You? A hero?” The teen’s prod was even more javelin-like in its bluntness than the last – choking and warping, the night seemed to grow even dimmer. A faint pause tightened the elastic, before a hardening cackle rang through the leaves, and the blue figure held his torso in his fit. He rose, so calm, to prove to the child that his laugh was nothing more than a muse, and the mere mention of his wish was not humorous at all: it was _humiliating. “_ **Don’t make me laugh, buddy.”**   
  
Tails did not know that the word that caused his heart to beat with fervor and push on through any endeavor could be molded into a dagger, built purely for him. He set his gaze ahead, shifting in and out of focus, longing to not listen, but like in all things, he would listen till the end. His hero, his _friend_ looked him up and down, before smiling. “A weak, treacherous brat like you can stay with Eggman for all I care.”   
  
The fencepost within his mind was torn down, and no years of training to stay calm, do not respond, and cry later could have armored himself for his brother reaching into his mind and pulling out his essence. Long forgotten sobs reached the surface, and the child began to weep; albeit silent, as all good children do. Another chuckle came from his hero, prompting the fox to glare half-heartedly from his watery vision.   
  
“Stick to your day job, kid,” The hedgehog turned and bid him a calm wave of the hand. “You’ll never be a hero.” A blue haze was left in the path, and all Tails could do was watch as the fractured pieces of his reality feebly tried to come together.   
  


* * *

* * *

  
  
How poetic: he ran to find the one he looked up to more than the sun itself, only to run back to the one he _knew_ he should have trusted from the beginning. The familiar sight of the building, his home, even through the tears and dissociation, was one welcomed with the open arms and hope that had been dwindled in the forest. His body shaking from the shock of the blows, he shuffled through the lightly lit hallways towards the one person he knew would shield him from the cruelty of those he trusted, as he had so many years ago. 

The laboratory door was left just as it was – the faint scratches left as they so often flung the door open in the past, only to hear a resounding thud as the metal slammed against the wall, the light was a lamppost hesitantly streaming in from inside. Face dry, red rimmed, the fox slowly approached and saw the back of his father. A shuddering breath came out choked, crackling in the middle and end, and the doctor turned around. All Tails could hear was the shuffling of papers and the mentor’s pivot, as he opted to focus his vision onto the tiles on which his feet were planted.   
  
“...Tails?” The older man took a humble step forward, reaching into the air in front to his mentee. “Are you alright?”   
  
“Father,” Feeling the weight of the atmosphere, the planning, the secrecy, all misdeeds committed weighed down onto his mind as he addressed the one who swore to protect him, and that was all it took. 

Ringing and motion overtook his senses, buckling knees with the symphony of destruction laid in the child’s journey. With the steadfast constant of his father’s embrace – rocking him, humming a familiar melody, the kit’s frame tucked beneath his chin, he sobbed and _screamed_ ; guttural and raw, the grip tightened around the child’s shoulders. Time falters and snaps when overcome with terror, and he could not know how long he remained there, held in the vice like grip of his mentor, mummering comforts into the slight tuffs of hair always remaining atop the boy’s ahead.   
  
What he did know, for absolute certainty, is that he trusted Sonic the Hedgehog – and he would believe him, even now.   
  
“What preparations are to be made for tomorrow, father?”   
  
He would trust in him that ‘Tails’ will never be a hero.   
  
But more importantly...   
  
He’ll trust that Miles will be nothing more than a **_villain._**   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ending section was heavily inspired by the dialogue in a certain comic within the canon of the AU - with some creative flexibility.
> 
> Thank you all for reading !


	3. His Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miles makes a moral realignment, and for the first major time in his life- works for the side of evil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! yet again, some dialogue within this chapter is inspired by a comic in the canon of the AU (with some creative liberty, bc im spicy like that)

Months of yearning, teetering between his passions, the day had come, and he could not have been more ready. When he awoke from his bed, he ignored the itching dry skin around his eyes – the burning fluttering within his ribcage, scratching at the edges – and took a breath. The light taps of his feet against the metal floor, the occasional squeak from his sneakers and wind blowing through the sides of his jacket accompanying him, he walked to the storage warehouse, deep within the complex’s hallways. 

The lights flickered, the kitsune’s eyes squinting as he scanned for his mentor, before setting his course to where his father was standing, shuffling through various papers and screens on a table in front of him. Ivo did not address the boy vocally, merely turning his head to lay a comforting gloved hand onto the boy’s shoulder, and lifting the boy’s chin with a reassuring glance.   
  
“It is time, my boy,” His voice struggled along the pavement, rasp on the bottom, with floating inspiration dancing within its fine lines. He turned away, subtly placing his hands within his jacket pockets, but not before the boy quickly intercepted his path; soon, two red jackets blended into one as the child’s yellow figure embraced the doctor, slightly nuzzling his head into the space between the golden emblems on his coat. Any usual protests against the expression froze up on the doctor’s tongue, and he rigidly wrapped his own arms around the boy.   
  
Perhaps it was the realization of how _small_ the boy’s charge was, or the hammering of both of their hearts in anticipation, but they did not discuss further their hug and the doctor silently ushered the boy to an impressive work of machinery in a corner of the room. Quiet was the room, save for the hum of ventilation and morning birds, the man placed his hand onto the robot’s outer coverings – mental prayers that the bot would protect his charge.   
  
A _knocking_ sequence, distinctive in rhythm, was heard from the entrance doorway, and while the mentee turned to inquisitively look over, the doctor did not show any sign he heard it at all (and if the child was any less observant, he would not have noticed how the man’s eyes twitched in the door’s direction, and how he shuffled to put away any materials he was currently dealing with).   
  
Ivo issued a blunt goodbye to his mentee, not before placing the ghost of a kiss onto the fox’s forehead; which if the expression was out of place on its own, the lingering pause afterwards, the man’s chin resting gently along the boy’s bangs, was yet another check of the increasing list of discrepancies in the boy’s mind. The creaking of the door’s closing was the parting gift before the boy was left alone, drilling throughout his mind the drills run throughout the year’s training – to ensure the plan would go without fault, and without hesitation. The humor in the boy’s own change in alliance made him bitterly chuckle, a pressure building in the place below his ribs and behind his temples; waiting for the moment he could see the friend who had **_betrayed_** him, and prove! He did not need a reckless _child_ , running ahead with no concern for those around him, and leaving those who cared in his dust.   
  
A glitching set of eyes watching from the doorway was left unnoticed, as the boy clenched his fists, and familiarized himself with his machine.   


* * *

* * *

The large field was ahead of him, various other small bots taking the offense onto a small village behind, and he could not have been more ready. Slowly approaching, the robot’s lumbering steps moving him forward, he could almost not see the haze of blue and red destroying his father’s creations; yet Tails knew to trust himself better than that. The creature wagged his finger at his father, wiping from underneath his nose with a smirk on his face; his once heroic and inspiring features twisted and harsh, like a lively plaza void of people and festivities.   
  
Years of his shy, reserved countenance, biting back harsh words, broke free and the kitsune yelled at the hedgehog.   
  
“Hey!” The ‘hero’ turned, his eyes dropping and his posture slacking as he locks eyes with the boy (“ _Tails?”_ ) as the fox locks his jaw. “Leave my father _alone!”_ The kitsune fired at the hedgehog, forcing him to jump back from his mentor’s vessel; his distraction allowing his father to speed into the air, laughing heartedly, a booming joy resounding from deep within him, thanking his charge.   
  
“Now you’ve really done it, Egghead!” The teen jests, snarling as he points towards the doctor. “Bringing your _kid_ along with you - leave Tails out of this!”   
  
“Oh,” Something foul and rotten overcame the boy’s senses, scorching his heart with fury, the fuel from years of pain raising the flames. “Is that how you see it?” He begins to giggle, a childish glee not fit for the destruction and havoc being wreaked amongst him. His laughter ends, mimicking a certain gesture done to him, and he looks to the teen with a blank face, eyes null.   
  
“Father, I can deal with the blue pest myself. You have more important matters to handle.” With a glare, he adds, “This is personal.”   
  
The doctor nods at his mentee, scoffing at the blue hedgehog before his craft took off, flying towards another post of battle. The hedgehog made a squeak of protest, but the boy’s firing blocked the hero’s exit.   
  
“Tails, I don’t know what he told you, but _please-”_

_“_ I listened to you.” His gaze lingering on the spot which his father was, he subtly shifted his head to meet his gaze with the protagonist on the ground. Biting back his volume, he wanted this moment to be calm, _rational_ , as he prides himself on being. “I did **exactly** what you told me.”   
  
The years of machinery malfunctioning, plans perfectly executed ruined in the last hour of completion, the hero escaping from a secure prison; all seemingly random, the fox ignored the frustration building in his mentor’s brow every time, and turned the other way, offering quiet consolation. His father’s glares, when it was his mentor’s watch on their enemy and the blue blur escaped, and the pressurizing guilt fracturing within his chest was all pushed aside, for _him._   
  
Tails up ticked his chin and scoffed at his own naivety, before looking at the hero from beneath his brows. “And you just ripped it all away from me.”   
  
His fingers glided over the various buttons and triggers placed on the board below him, slowly placing his fingers on the handles. The analytical speech, written during the late night, tossing and turning onto his pillows as the familiar tree taps his attention on the window – all his controlled emotions, muffled and held aback, could not be tempered any longer, and all his words foamed and snapped in their entirety.   
  
“I never thought that you’d be so _cruel –_ I never thought you’d be as **ruthless** as that!”   
  
“Hey- Tails!” Fire shot out of a striker from the fox’s craft, the blue blur barely escaping its scourging licks. “Watch the heat, buddy!”   
  
The flames ended with a snuff, yet a fire ignited still in the boy’s eyes, glaring down with a fervor akin to a match, resisting. A smile, thin and with a point, embedded itself into the boy’s features, as the boy tilts his head innocently at his prior companion.   
  
“To send me back. To leave me with **_nothing-_** ” He leaned forward, his arms splayed across the surface with the switches, and bit out, “You knew _exactly_ what you were doing.”   
  
Bullets whirred by, and the blue hero spun out of the way, before spurring out of his coil into a kneel.   
  
“ _Tails_ , I need ya’ to slow down a sec, buddy,” the hero calmly pleaded, standing slowly with his hands lifted to surrender. “You’re going a mile a minute right now – I can’t help ya’ if you don’t talk me through it.” He took small steps towards the boy, giving a small smile and reaching out an open palm. “What’s going on?”   
  
…  
  
“No,” the boy snickered, smiling as the other teen’s arm fell down and his face morphed into disbelief. “I’m done with talking.”  
  
The holsters fired, and a shout of Miles' name was all the blue blur could muster before he succumbed to the battle, and soon at all to darkness.   
  
He could not be more ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sry this took so long !! school got ahead of me a̶n̶d̶ ̶w̶r̶i̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶s̶o̶n̶i̶c̶ ̶f̶a̶n̶f̶i̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶a̶i̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶e̶x̶a̶c̶t̶l̶y̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶m̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶p̶ ̶p̶r̶i̶o̶r̶i̶t̶i̶e̶s̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶ ̶g̶o̶t̶ ̶t̶e̶s̶t̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶t̶u̶d̶y̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶l̶o̶l̶


	4. By Lantern's Glow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Within the hallway of prisoner cells, Sonic reveals to the apprentice the fatal flaw in their supposed "meeting" in the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i added chapter summary's & chapter titles for all of these chapters, bc why not go all out? im already writing this and putting a ton of work in it. im going ~full~ shakespeare.

  
"No problem,” he breathes another lie. 

The pain and guilt he  feels **_amplifies_**.

  
  


* * *

* * *

“I’m so proud of you, my boy.” 

The mentor had a steady hand on his shoulder, a luxury not felt since the child’s younger years. Their enemy thrown into a cell, and Miles had never seen his mentor holding back tears of euphoria until this moment. Nights of diligently working on newly invented weapons, images of his father’s pride motivating him forward- and yet the visions of his mentor in his past fantasies held to be nothing compared to his father’s joy as he looked down to him.   
  
Donning the plain face the fox always masked after a strenuous day for the doctor, gleaming eyes underneath light bangs, and a smile was soon to be brought to his mentor’s face; riddling with the cuffs of his gloves, and shifting his weight between his shoes, the boy smiled.   
  
“You did most of the work.” He scratched the nape of his neck, his eyes crinkling around the edges. “I just followed your orders.”   
  
The man’s smile dimmed, and his hand, once firmly gripped around the boy’s shoulder fabric, now seemed limp. Sensing the shift, Miles tilted his head- “What’s wrong?”   
  
“Do you,” The doctor paused, a muffled sadness overcoming his features; he lifted his hand to cusp the boy’s chin and framed his face. “Do you truly think of yourself that way?”   
  
“Yeah,” he shrugged, a blunt and short fact in his mind. If he did not follow the slight changes in his father’s countenance, he would have missed the frown now etched into the creases. Later, when the boy was asked of Ivo’s treatment of him, he promised to himself not to mention the moments after the battle; how the doctor held his face within his gentle, gloved hands and caressed his with his thumbs. The whispered promises, of a father to a son, desperately trying to build upon shaky foundation of confidence that always shuddered from within the boy (“Know that, no matter the outcome, I would _never_ be able to do _anything_ without you”). And he would never speak of the way the boy spung to the tops of toes, and clutched the doctor’s lapels as he shook- and he would never speak of the amounting joy in how the doctor held him back.   


* * *

* * *

  
  
Flickering lights lined the hallway, and reflected off the metal bars aligning the small entrances along the wall. Only four rooms adorned the hallway, yet the darkness suffocating the air dressed in pale moonlight only multiplied any slight movements and sounds leaking from underneath the guarding door. A short figure gingerly closed the main hall, hovering on the door handle as a small _clang_ resonated down the path.   
  
“Sonic?” A hushed tone glanced the various cells, the small lantern placed in the kit’s hands offering minimal light in the circumference of the boy. He swallowed. “Are you there?”   
  
Shuffling could be heard in a left-hand room alongside a shadowed body low to the ground, and Miles tried to hide his shaking breath. A faint voice, steady, “What could you _possibly_ want, Miles?”   
  
“I, just,” He couldn’t work through the ever-growing knot in his stomach, grasping his voice and pulling it down further into his throat. “I wanted to make sure you were being treated well. He can be... _well,_ excessive.”   
  
“Oh, you don’t say,” the blue figure bit back, tensing his fists close to his torso. “I thought this would all be happiness and pancakes.”   
  
Flickering hope, the child shuffled closer before sitting to his knees and placing the lantern next to his knee; the light cast terraforming shadows in the captured teen’s face, only sparking more fear into Tails when he mustered the courage to look upwards from the floor.   
  
Sighing, the teen shuffled to the bars- a set expression unwavering. “Shouldn’t you, like, not be here?” He reached his gloves (burnt and torn, yet Mobian custom kept Ivo from removing the items from the teen’s hands) towards the younger, and with the flinch that followed, he simply dropped it to grasp the cool metal. “Won’t your dad be bugged?”   
  
Miles was not oblivious. He was not blind to how his the hero shuddered over his words, his gaze dropping as he asked the boy if he was meant to be here; he had watched him for years, and knows when he is scared. Petrified. The battles that could not be won, those where his friends were injured, and their survival was not clear.   
  
“I’ll be fine,” he muttered, hoping his mumbling hide from the teen’s ears, while his mind told him to not be so childish. “I can cover my tracks.”   
  
“Yeah, you’ve always been good at that.” Sonic chuckled, albeit more to himself than the younger boy. A darkness swept behind his eyes, his smirk falling to the cracked concrete. “Why did you do this?”   
  
“I just wanted to-”   
  
A muted shout and Sonic shook the cell bars, breathing heavily whilst the kit jumped back onto his elbows. His eyes closed, he set his jaw and paused, before lifting his eyes.   
  
“Do you even **know** ,” The child’s eyes were wide, a gleam to them with no weight, and for the first time, the hero allowed himself to hold their hurt gaze- knowing he was the one. “What you have cost us?”   
  
Tails’ nose twitched, an anger crawling through his skin, and it is thanks to year of patience he held back a snarl. His mouth opened to refute, before Sonic interrupted again.   
  
“Can’t you think for yourself, for _once in your life?-_ ” Despite the storm forming in his bones, Miles made a note to wonder on this moment later on; how this anger contained no growl, no laughter. He would look into his memories of the nighttime forest, and see how stark this contrasts. The desperation that peered through the cracks in his anger was so unfamiliar to their last encounter, it almost tilted the boy backwards. Can he have two different kinds of rage? Perhaps he was that damaging, that he introduced a new disgust within his hero. “Why do you have to be such a mindless drone to him? Why do you _follow him?_ ”   
  
“Of **_course_** I was following, I just-” His snapping even rattled his own head, lunging for the hedgehog, and almost banging his forehead against its bars. Shaking his head, he set his head steady. “I’ve known him for a very long time, and this is probably the **happiest** he’s ever been.” Eyes pleading with the boy’s green, he tried to connect their gaze, even as his hero shook. “You’d really want to take that away from him? Doesn’t it matter what he wants? Even a _little_?”   
  
“ ** _No-”_** A boom crackled against Sonic’s voice- tears collected, _burning,_ at how disgustingly _wrong_ this was. “All their lives, their _homes_ -” The peaking of the hero’s words, rattling along it’s edges, only highlighted his young age, and Tails took a moment to mourn how small they all were. “He means _nothing_ compared to that.”   
  
“ _Then what do you want me to do?”_ Tails’ prayer only meeting a whisper, his hands folded. “You were right about me, you know?” His eyes did not catch the way Sonic’s brow creased, and the lightning of his fierce grip against the metal columns encasing him, and he only continued his broken truth. “I’m never going to be a hero, but I can’t watch all of this die, but I can’t fail him _again,_ _I’vedone_ ** _enoughofthat_** ** _-_** ”.   
  
“ _Tails,”_ He squeezed a hand through the columns to graze the boy’s cheek, searching desperately for his gaze. “It doesn’t matter how mad I am at you, but I would _never,”_ Tails met his eyes and tried not to sniffle. “I would _never_ tell you what you ‘couldn’t be’.”   
  
“But, two nights ago, you were _there-”_   
  
_“_ Little dude, I haven’t seen you in a week. I’ve been at the HQ, gathering supplies.” Tails clung to the tightening pressure of Sonic’s hand pressing further against his cheek, and reveled in the familiar strength behind his eyes. “Who told you this?”   
  
“You did, Sonic.” He gently held onto the cuffs of Sonic’s hand, afraid any pressure he applied would cause the teen to remove the comforting weight against his face.   
  
With a creak, the door opened, and both figures sprung up to the feet- the boy snatching the lantern off of the floor. Neon blue dots glowed amongst the space in the door opening, and a red metallic gleam soothed the boy’s anxiety.   
  
“Miles, I do not know how much longer I can excuse this.” Tails smiled at the hidden code amongst his words (“I do not know how much longer I can keep him off your tail”), the weight of Sonic’s words still left in the air. Looking back to his partner, the blue blur gave him a shine within his look before flicking his head towards the door. New found love held steadfast in his arms, he quickly walked to the door, before leaving the hero alone in the darkness.   


* * *

* * *

  
  
_Oh, this is such a bad idea._   
  
He opened and quickly sealed the laboratory door, an act perfected with his expertise in sabotaging his father’s plans, and took a holding breath as he felt the nerving weight of his shoulder blades against the metal. A folder for collection in his hands, he gathered the determination in his chest and strode towards the desks and shelves.   
  
Feverously opening various brackets, the metal drawers clinging, he skimmed along the labels. The paper he had seen, the one snatched away from him the day before this all started, was burned into his memory. A figure of a body, lists of properties, malfunctions and services written in small boxes on the paper- not too far from the physician check-ups his father would drag him to, albeit almost never without a handheld laser pointed at the staff to convince them to provide service to the boy.   
  
Along the other files under “I”, he found not just the one he glimpsed before his father nervously tore it away, but other files with the same subject tag he saw on the original body chart: Infinite.   
  
“This is it,” he mustered, and he could see how others said he reminded them of his great father- he almost stumbled over the wrinkles he caused on the paper with his tight grip, the electricity rushing behind his eyes. Sliding the other papers into his collection folder, he set his sights onto the paper he had come for. The same black-furred creature was photographed, the label and his father’s signature in the top corner mirroring his memory.   
  
He could almost giggle. His father’s scratched and scribbled handwriting never truly changed, despite how he whined at Ivo to change it. Written under the photographs and charts, his father’s words were clear:   
  
“The Phantom Ruby: A weapon that takes control of people's visual and depth perception to feed false information to the brain, creating a new reality for them. Causing visual and auditory hallucinations, will need further research to determine why physical injuries may occur with these delusions.”   
  
Almost a sixth sense, he turned around a second before the door creaked open.   
  
“ _Father-”_   
  
It only took a look from the doctor, before the door was slammed shut, and the muffled locking of the key was all he heard before yanking on the door handle, pounding for his father to let him out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a new year's treat!!
> 
> some of the dialogue has been inspired from yet another toxikku comic (I seem to like doing that sdjghds), whilst some of the description of the Phantom Ruby is taken directly from the official description, bc idk how else to describe it.
> 
> let's hope this 2021 is better a̶n̶d̶ ̶d̶o̶e̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶l̶e̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶m̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶s̶o̶r̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶w̶r̶i̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶s̶o̶n̶i̶c̶ ̶f̶a̶n̶f̶i̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶b̶o̶r̶e̶d̶o̶m̶.̶
> 
> happy new year's !! stay safe, everyone <3 <3


	5. Thoughts That Bleed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robotnik's intentions are revealed, and future plans are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're almost at the end! i was planning on this being the final chapter, but i just want to throw this out into the open! school and uni prep has been kicking my spirit to the curb, but i hope to write more often, even as just a stress reliever. 
> 
> hope u enjoy !!

He kept his hands between his knees on car rides; he never drinks hot chocolate with whipped cream; and if there were any other universal law of his life, it was to never leave home without a pick. 

It's with years of practice that his hands don't shake as he subtly twists and turns his tools into the metal opening. His thoughts shift back to the files left abandoned on the floor, dropped when he spotted his father's wide-eyed face in the doorway, and he leaves his current task to shuffle through its contents.

Distortions without explanations, data scribbled into too-small chart squares; Tails furrowed in confusion at the words on the page. Nothing seemed familiar to experiments the child had sat in before. His father always made it a point to organize their files neatly, lest his boy grow frustrated in trying to decipher his random assorted notes. 

"Then... he _knew_ he didn't want me to see this," he breathed, allowing his thoughts to spiral within his chest. His breaths hitched, swiping the files into his arms and rushing to the door. A mumbled voice could be heard down the hall, and Tails crouched, pressing his ear against the door- cradling the files and his metal pick in his arms.  
  
Footsteps approached, slowing as they came close to the door.   
  
"...Miles?" The doctor took the silence as permission to continue. "I know you are confused, and possibly angry, but know- know that I would _never_ do anything with the intent to hurt you."

 _Maybe you should have thought of that before you hid this from me._ Tails bit his tongue, and despite his best efforts, felt his eyes begin to sting.

"Son, I promise you... everything's going to be alright." Just as abruptly as they came, the footsteps quickly left. Tails closed his eyes, timing his breaths to soothe his beating heart, and clutched the hooked metal again once he reached 20.

He made quick time with his pick, working through the steps he read in a book even long before he met Sonic, before hearing the soft _click_ of the door.

"There." Sighing a huff of relief, he turned the knob silently and peered into the corridor, taking off with the folders once he saw no sign of the doctor.  
  
He'd know these hallways if he was blindfolded, and he knew exactly where he needed to go.

* * *

" _Sonic!_ " The fox-child sprinted into the chamber, clambering over his feet, and heaving open the shuttered cell-door. He could almost sob, the way a light overcame the teen's eyes when he spotted him opening the door; he threw the hedgehog's arm over his shoulder, mummering apologies and _are-you-alright 's._

"Heh... Took you long enough." He didn't ignore the smile that didn't quite make it to the hero's eyes. He also tried to ignore their obvious height difference as he half-dragged his friend out of the cell, to somewhat difficulty. "He didn't hurt you, did he? I wanna make sure you're alright, kid, and I don't _know_ what meeting you were talking about earlier-"  
  
"I know, Sonic, _please_ , save your strength," Tails says, scanning Sonic's newly acquired bruises and how he favored his left leg over his right. "I have the files on a guy called _Infinite_. He can create a 'false reality', and cause you to hallucinate your worst fears, and- _Gd_ , I'm such an idiot."

" _ **Hey** ," _Sonic stopped in his tracks, Tails tripping over his shoe with the force of their pause. He found snapping green eyes blocking his path. "I don't want to hear you talk bad about yourself, alright?"

He shrugged the concern off and shoved the hedgehog along. "This is all my fault anyway, but I appreciate the thought." They reached the end of the expansive hallway, transferring the teen's weight as Tails extended his hand to the handle.

He opened the door- only to see his robot companion on the other side. The duo sucked in a breath, and the child digged his heels in for a fight.

"Orbot, _please-_ "

"Miles... I can't believe you thought you had to do this without my help."

Their guarded expressions made way to confusion, as Orbot stepped forward.

Orbot untucked the boy's hand and slid a key onto his palm, pausing to hold Tails' wrist gently. "This is the key to the armory. From there, you can exit out the back. Do what you must." His neon eyes glowed in the dull light. "The boss will not show mercy this time. Don't hope he will have a change of heart, alright, my boy?"

He leaped forward and wrapped his remaining arm around the bot's shoulders, tucking his head into the corner familiar to him; when his childhood was all machine and no warmth, he would hold his friend close and listen to the whirring of his fans, and imitate that it was a heartbeat. 

"Thank you," the boy smiled upward at the bot's face. "friend." Orbot's expression was limited in its metal confinements, but the lingering touch on his shoulder and pinch of Tails' cheek was worth whole worlds to him.

Orbot turned to the blue-spiked Mobian in Tails' grasp, a stillness seeping through the air. "Keep him safe."

"You know I will." Not quite a snap, but sincere, and Orbot nodded before letting the two go off; leaving them only with a final warning ("I can only distract him for long." "We know, you've already done enough. I'll keep the kid safe.")

They parted ways, and with a strength Tails hadn't felt since young childhood, he allowed his heart to fully give itself over to trust.

* * *

* * *

Running through the building's confines, Sonic held out his hand to stop the child tagging behind. 

"This the place your friend talked about?" 

A metal doorway, surrounded by windows spoiling the contents of the room. Tails let out a slight smile, stepping into place next to the hedgehog. "Yep, this would be the place."

He slid the key into the slot, only for the door to swing open without so much as turning the lock. While the fox stiffened, Sonic laughed and pushed open the door.

"Looks like Egg-head couldn't even think of a proper security system, huh?" He sauntered into the room, turning back to the child in the entranceway, his arms folded behind his head. The smile was a humble change from the broken teen he found in the cell- always the one to hide his pain, to continue fighting- and yet Tails retained the tension in his shoulders.

"Sonic, I don't think this is right-"  
  
" _You should listen to your fox-friend._ "

The duo turned suddenly to a figure silhouetted in the darkness, their back turned. Sonic stepped in front of Tails, a nod of the wrist signaling him to draw in closer and stay behind. Lightly holding the boy's hand, he slowly began to walk towards the exit.

"And who would you be?" Sonic tilts his head, a mischievous glint twirling in his smile; never taking his eyes off their new foe, he flicked his head at the door and let go of his grip. Tails took a quiet step in his feet, and took his key towards the expanding exit- a slider, meant to be pulled from the bottom up. A panel was placed on the wall next to their escape, and Tails plugged the key in and twisted. The gates sprawled open. 

An echoing laughter boomed through the room- before a red haze overcame the room. Sonic narrowed his eyes, eyeing the figure now turned halfway.

"What the-"

Crackling under the concrete flew them off their feet, Tails landing on his torso far from the opened doors. His palms stung with the harshness of the floor, almost tearing through his gloves, before looking up to their attacker. Glitching crimson hues adorned the room- pieces of the floor becoming dislodged from the foundation, splitting and crackling with a pounding force.

" _I'm everything you should fear, little one._ " 

Tails' face was lifted roughly by a clawed hand, his eyes meeting a single red iris behind the masked countenance. 

" _Tsk. How disappointing,_ " the figure sneered, strengthening his grip on the boy. " _I thought Eggman would take on an apprentice with more... potential._ "

Glaring through the whispering pain, Tails scanned the masked figure for any expressions.

"Hello... Infinite."


End file.
